Susan &
Tom Dombrowski, Franklin, CT
We are a 32
and 36 year old married couple. We
work very hard during the year, and look forward to the relaxation and fun of
our ‘winter break’. We have
been to Sandals Antigua, as well as two visits to Grand Lido Sans Souci.
We were looking to try a new resort, but hesitant because we’ve had
such a great time our previous GLSS visits.
Because of all the positive (glowing) reviews of GL Braco, we decided
to give it a try. We booked 7 nights in an ocean-view room on the main beach.
Through research on the ‘Net, I learned that maybe the ‘ocean-view’
wasn’t all it was advertised, as the rooms are actually separated from the
ocean by another block of rooms! More on that later… I hope that you will find this report to be informative, and
I will try to do a bit of comparisons between the two SuperClubs resorts.
Grab a beer, this is a long one!
We booked
through a charter service out of Boston, which promised a direct/non-stop
flight and cheap price. Although
they did deliver on both accounts, the flight was less than spectacular.
We were scheduled for a 10:00 am departure, which meant a 4:00 wakeup,
2-hour drive and 2 hour prior check-in. We
knew we were in for a long day when the plane finally arrived at the gate at
9:50. The flight would be delayed until 12:30. It did give us time to meet a
few folks who were waiting with us, and we were all looking forward to getting
to JA. Between the airport wait and the bus ride, we made friends with 2 other
couples who we ended up spending a great deal of time with over the week.
(Hi Bob & Joyce, Roy & Liz!)
Turns out,
the plane had sat unused during a two week span of frigid New England cold,
and the lavatories were frozen, and inoperable.
They finally got one partially thawed, and began boarding.
The on site charter coordinator urged us all to use the airport lav
facilities, as it would be a long ride ahead.
No problem, why didn’t they think of that earlier? The plane itself
was probably the worst I’ve ever been on, as far as being cramped and having
no knee room whatsoever. It was not a pleasant start to our vacation.
We arrived
at Montego Bay, and by luck, we were the only flight arriving at the time.
Being one of the firsts off the hell-plane, we passed quickly through
Immigration, and collected our luggage. We
went to the SuperClubs desk, and were told that the bus would be here in 10
minutes. We took turns in the
bathroom, grabbed a Red Stripe beer from the outside concession, and then we
were off! The bus ride to Braco
is only one hour, and does not stop (the ride to Sans Souci is 2 hours and has
a toilet/beer break). Because it
was our third ride, it passed quickly, and we were not alarmed by the
traffic/driving conditions, although the other people on the bus were!!
We tipped the bus driver $5.
We arrived
at Braco with 4 other couples, and check in seemed painfully slow and
disorganized. It was a Saturday afternoon, and they’d had a big turnover
that day, leaving us with no rooms ready at 5pm.
We were told to come back in an hour. We strolled over to Nanny’s
Jerk Pit for a quick dinner, finding it on our own.
I was a little surprised that no one from the staff offered to escort
us. Hmmm, where’s that Lido
service?
I had faxed
down a room request for a complimentary upgrade (as past SuperClubs guests) to
a second floor room in Blocks 1 or 2, 12 or 11.
(See Mike & Sara Scharpfy’s web site for layout map.)
I was pleased that, when we returned to the desk for our rooms, that
they had indeed upgraded us to beach front, room 126, second floor in the
first block. Perfect, things were
going our way. The bellman loaded
our bags onto a trolley, and lead the way to the room.
The room was
very spacious, with a king sized bed, armoire housing the TV and 2 large
drawers. It was decorated nicely with bright island colors. The bathroom was
large, with a tub and toilet; the
sink and vanity were separate. There was also a large closet with a personal
safe. You must get a key from the
front desk for the room safe. It
was about 12 x 6 x 6,
plenty big enough for wallets, jewelry and travel docs. The room also had a
ceiling fan, and an air conditioner unit mounted high, with a remote control. The a/c worked very well, once we got it figured out.
The readings are in Celsius, leaving us Americans dumbfounded.
The room had a chair, small desk with a CD/radio player, and a patio
with 2 chairs and a small table. There was no in-room refrigerator, as we’d
had at Sans Souci. Our
patio overlooked the beach area by the watersports shack.
Our ‘oceanview’ was through the trees, but it was no problem.
Tom flipped
on the TV, as I was unpacking, and discovered channel 15… the Playboy
Channel! Wooo hooo!
That’ll put you right in the mood, even after a long, miserable day
of travel. After quick check of
the bedsprings (grin, wink) we showered, dressed and went for a stroll to
check out the surroundings. We
walked down to the clubhouse, met Raymond the bartender, and sat for a couple
of cold Red Stripe beers. We
assured him we’d see him again, and walked back toward the main village. The resort was very quiet that night, probably due to all the
new arrivals.
Even though
we’d eaten at 6:00, we were a bit hungry.
We stopped at LaPasta and split a seafood pizza, and had a glass of
wine. It was excellent, and I
loved the little restaurant. It
has less than a dozen outdoor tables, and was very nice.
The service was prompt, and friendly. We walked through the Village
Square, over to the Au Natural section. Again,
there was almost nobody around. By
this time, we were beat, so decided to turn in for the night. I did awake at
one point in the night to torrential rain downpour, and hoped that that would
be the last of the rain for the week, turns out it was. We slept very well.
Most of our
days were about the same, we’d sleep until 8:30ish, throw on swim suits and
a cover up and head to eat. We’d play in the sun and water, and eat again.
Hit the hot tub, have a few drinks, and then… eat again! Shower,
dress, drink a bit more, dance the night away, aaahhh that’s the life!
We ate
breakfast and lunch in Victoria’s Market most days.
The breakfast and lunch is buffet style, with a fruit and salad bar,
soup station, hot plate selections, grill and a carving station. There was
also a big desert spread at each meal. The
food was very good, and we often went back for seconds (and thirds!).
There is plenty to chose from, and no one should go away hungry.
The food at Braco is just as good as at GLSS.
The 2 clubhouses also serve food 24 hours, and there is 24-hr room
service available. There are 2
other (reservation required) restaurants for dinner; Piacere the fancy French
restaurant, and a Japanese style steak house.
Both of these dining options require long pants for the gentlemen, so
we did not try them out. Tom won’t
wear long pants on vacation, and I’m not about to force the issue, even
though people who did eat at these restaurants raved about the meals and urged
us to try them. Dinner in the
Victoria Market is more casual, so that’s where we ate most nights. Reservations are not required.
It is a la carte, with several courses.
The dinners were excellent. And
a good seat for dinner meant a guaranteed table for ShowTime, the nightly
entertainment, held in VM most nights.
A bit about
ShowTime… it is
professional entertainment most nights, and very well presented. But it just didn’t seem to last more than an hour.
I’d give the nod to GLSS for the ShowTime portion of the evening
entertainment, but we did love the dance hall at Braco.
There is very little ‘night life’ at GLSS.
Because it
was Super Bowl Sunday, the resort put out an American style barbecue at 6pm,
with hot dogs, hamburgers, ribs, wings and nachos.
We all gathered in the Piano Bar and TV Room areas to watch the game.
I think the guest turnout was more than they expected, because they
seemed a bit short staffed at the bar. After
the game, we hit the Dance Hall, and danced until 1 am.
The Dance Hall is modeled after an authentic Jamaican style dance hall,
and is definitely a good time. They
play a good mix of disco, reggae, soca and rock songs, and it keeps you
moving. There is a bar inside the Dance Hall, and believe me, the drinks go
down quickly when you’re having as much fun as we did.
Monday we
signed up for our spa services, a manicure and pedicure are included in the
price. I had my nails & toes
done by a very nice young lady, we chatted about the island, and the resort.
We opted to pay for massages ($40 for ½ hr.). I was a bit disappointed
as the massages were done indoors, rather than out on the beach where I had
seen the tables set up. I did learn that if you want to be outside, you must request
it at the time of booking your appointment.
The spa services at GLSS are all included, no additional fees for
massage. My masseuse did pay
extra attention to my calf muscles, which have been giving me trouble for a
few months, and the dancing and beach volleyball definitely was not helping.
I walked out feeling like a new woman, ready to hit the dance floor
again!
Tom went
back to the room for a nap, and I took the opportunity to check out the a/n
beach and facilities. He has no
interest in trying the nude beach, so, no problem, I’ll go on my own.
I strolled over, grabbed a drink and a towel, and hit the beach.
The a/n beach itself is much nicer than the main beach…
the sand seems softer and the water bottom is definitely smoother than
the main beach. There are 2
blocks of rooms right on the a/n beach, housing 100 of the resort’s guests.
These are suites, and a bit more $$$ than the main beach rooms.
There is also a clubhouse, large bar area, huge pool, and hot tub. It’s
a bit of a shock to see everyone walking around nude, but one quickly becomes
accustomed to it, although I was grinning a bit.
One thing that I did take immediate notice of was the fact that most
everyone I saw on the nude side was way older than me.
(I’m 32). I would say that the age group seemed to be 40 – 60ish.
As a matter of fact, the entire resort seemed to be of an older age
group. No problem, we made
friends easily. We were never at
a loss for someone to chat with, and have a few drinks with!
A bit about
the resort here… the
resort itself is beautiful. The
grounds are very well maintained, and the staff is very friendly.
There is a group of 6 (or so) social directors, working tirelessly to
ensure a good time is had by all. There
are many activities planned throughout the day, most revolving around the
beach or pool. There’s also a
9-hole golf course with instruction on site, as well as tennis with lessons
too. We had the intention of
playing a round or two, but never got up the ambition to move off the beach
loungers. Maybe next time. The main beach is very large, with plenty of loungers, floats
and elbow room for all. However,
the sand is rough, and the ocean bottom rocky.
You definitely want to wear water shoes into the ocean, as there are
sea urchins that, if stepped on, will cause you a $140 trip to the doctor.
Yes, this did actually happen to a guest.
We saw him that evening, and he looked very unhappy.
It was the first day of his vacation.
There is bar
waitress service on the beach, and the girls are very prompt. Also, they have
a girl who comes around at noontime with a little red cooler, with…
Popsicle’s! It was
wonderful, eating an icy Popsicle on the beach.
You select your own, and enjoy. One
day I missed the Popsicle girl because I was in the water, zoning out, and I
was so bummed. I quickly set off down the beach to find her, much to the
amusement of our friends. I came
back smiling, ice pop in hand.
The resort
is flat, all on one level, as opposed to GLSS, which is an uphill &
downstairs trek to everywhere. Braco
is centered around the Village Square, which tends to serve as a focal point,
whereas GLSS doesn’t have that feeling.
Braco seems a bit more casual than GLSS, I felt that Sans Souci was
more elegant, intimate and romantic. Once
I resolved to stop making comparisons between the two, and give Braco a chance
to ‘make it on it’s own’ I had a great time.
But I will admit that I had longings for Sans Souci, and almost asked
Tom if he’d want to switch resorts.
Enough of
that… back to vacation! We hit
the Dance Hall again Monday night, this time closing it at 11:30. Walking back to the room, we met up with the nicest people, a
group of 4 (older) couples from St. Louis.
They were in a dance club at home, and were whirling and twirling right
on the pool patio. We watched for
a moment, and one of the gents grabbed my hand and started showing me the
steps. I tried to follow along,
but I am just a lousy dancer. But
we had fun, and made some nice friends. Turns
out that later in the week, the women surprised the men with a marriage vow
renewal ceremony. All 4 couples
gathered in the wedding gazebo and renewed their vows together. It was very dreamy, and included! No additional charge. We
also saw 4 weddings that week.
Tuesday we
went on a speedboat ride along the coast with Bob and Joyce. The watersports guys had promised to take us out at 12:15,
they obviously meant Jamaican time, because we didn’t get going until around
2pm. We went out for about an
hour, and it was a bumpy ride, but fun. The
wind on the north shore of the island is non-stop, making most watersports
difficult. So if you have a
non-windy day, go for it! They
are few and far between.
I hit the
nude beach again, this time with Claudia, another new friend. It was to be her first nude beach experience.
We downed two quick shots of rum for courage, grabbed towels, and hit
the beach. I bared all, twirled
around, and shouted, “I’m naked!” People
near us just laughed at me, no problem! Claudia
removed her top, and slunk down in her beach chair.
She thought I was a nut case. She
stayed for about an hour, then used some lame excuse (massage appointment) to
leave. I headed over to the hot
tub, where Tyrone was entertaining folks with an hour of dirty jokes, most
having to do with Jamaican men’s sexual prowess.
They were pretty funny, and I stayed the whole time.
Tuesday
night was Casino Night, and after that, Toga Party.
The social directors donned their togas early, and were set up in the
town square area as casino dealers. You
go to the banker and get chips or tokens for whichever game you want to play
(roulette, 21, etc…) and go ahead and play.
You do not have to pay for the chips/tokens, there is no cost.
The prize is a bottle of rum to the evening’s highest winner in each
of the games. This goes on until
ShowTime, then the Toga Party starts. The
staff will hand out sheets, you run back to the room, tie them up, and get out
to party! We had a great time at Toga Party, and stayed almost until
the end (at 2:30am). It was very
well attended, the disco was packed at one point.
The social directors were posted at the door, if you were not in a toga
you could not enter the dance hall, and that really kept the spirit of the
party alive. I was waiting to see
what the ‘nudies’ were going to show up in, there were one or two slightly
risqué togas, but complete coverage seemed to be the name of the game.
The tunes were rockin’, folks were dancin’, a good time for sure.
The next big
party was Thursday night, the Dare to be Bare PJ Party. Again, the social directors were guarding the doors against
anyone wearing too much. I wore a
black lingerie chemise (modest coverage), Tom wore his boxers.
The outfits ranged from full flannel to barely there.
They did have a contest for best outfit, should have been won by a cute
girl in a white ‘wedding night’ lingerie set and her date (husband?)
sporting a very sexy g-string, bowtie and wrist cuff set.
But the crowd favorites were a guy who took it all off, and a girl who
shook her bod so hard that surely she hurt herself.
We saw 2 guys baring it all, and one girl who tried for votes by baring
her breasts. The ‘nudies’
were dressed in lingerie sets and g-strings, by that point in the week it didn’t
faze anyone at all. Again, we had
a great time in the dance hall, got very drunk, and finally stumbled home at 3
am. Peeked in on the Playboy
channel (can we get this at home?)!!
Friday was
spent on recovery from the night before, the weather was perfectly beautiful,
and we lounged around the beach all day. I did snorkel off the beach for about
an hour, saw lots of little fishies, as well as a few wicked looking spiny
urchins. That alone convinced me
that I would never go without watershoes again.
I wandered over to the nude beach for an hour or so, hoping to get some
sun on those last few areas that were still white. It was just an outstanding day, very mellow and relaxing.
We hit the hot tub for a while, then got showered & dressed for the
big Friday Night Street Party.
The resort
did an excellent job of setting up buffet tables, lights and dinner seating
for all the guests. Dinner was
very good, there were probably over a hundred different food selections, all
of which were very tasty. They
did serve grilled lobster, but for all the hype, I could have gone without. Mine was a bit dry, while another at our table was still
quite slimy. But I did manage to
fill up on the other seafood selections, and the outdoor setting was just
beautiful. After dinner we had
dancing, and although the party went on very late, we did not.
This was our last night, and instead of spending it with everyone else,
we took a quiet walk along the beach to the club house, and had a few drinks
alone. We did not want our
vacation to end, we were having such a good time.
But alas,
end it must…. Saturday we said
our good-byes to our favorite staff members, got on to the bus at 12:00, and
were home in CT by 10:30pm. I was
glad that we chose to go to Braco, and we had a great vacation.
I would definitely return, and probably will. But I have to say that I’d go back to GLSS first.
Because there are fewer guests, you get a more personalized feel of a
vacation (does that make sense?). Please feel free to e-mail us if you have
any questions, and, hope you enjoyed our trip…
see you on the beach!